Heatmaps - It’s Getting Hot in Here

The benefits of using, analyzing and understanding heat maps are numerous.
The data gathered can offer proof as to where visitors do and do not click, provide
useful information when designing and redesigning landing pages, help determine
optimal advertisement placement, minimize
shopping cart abandonment, maximize
conversions of online forms and predict
how visitors will use your site in the future.

There’s
not much heat maps can’t reveal, really. We just need
to know what to look for then plan accordingly.

In the case of a traditional heat map, the brighter the color
the more clicks (and attention) a specific area is receiving —
that much we readily know (see image A below).

That is effective,
as it shows the degree to which people are interacting with
live elements on a website and how a design and site structure
can be improved by understanding what elements users are
truly interested in, as opposed to those areas where users only
consider clicking.

But heat maps alone do not show us all of the information
needed for true optimization, as they tend only to track clicks
on links. We can do much more.

Coupling heat map data with more detailed analytics lets
us track and visualize mouse movement and page or mouse
clicks that are not links (non-clickable elements).

In essence,
we get a deeper understanding of how users are experiencing
a page as a whole, not just where they click.
Now we’re cooking.

For example, how helpful would it be to know if users
are hovering over links (often called hover time), and how
often? If that information were available we might be able to determine how compelling the anchor text of certain links are,
even if users did not actually click them, and how they might be
improved.

We can also determine the time from when a page loads until
a user clicks a certain link. This is helpful in determining if the
placement we’ve chosen for a specific design element is optimal
or if it should be brought into greater focus (above the fold, for example)
to increase the number of clicks.

What heat map analytics can show with great clarity is not
just how well a Web design, its layout and structure are performing
in terms of clicks but also help us make modifications based
on seemingly unrelated information, such as the referrer (see
Image C). For example, review the highest volume entry pages by
comparing the best and worst performing pages.

Then use heat
maps to determine the relationship between the top referrer of
those pages and clicks and lack of clicks. Once the worst offenders
are found, multiple variables and landing page approaches
based on the source of traffic can be tested.

Reviewing the activity of visitors from different referral sources
is but one of the ways heat maps can be used. Clicktale, for example,
offers statistics to its users based on existing customers
versus new visitors, and customers who made a purchase versus
those who did not.

“We can segment by absolutely anything. For
example, age, gender, location or compare specifics such as bachelors
in their 30’s versus mothers versus teenagers,” says Clicktale’s
Director of Marketing and Communication, Shmuli Goldberg.
“Clicktale provides information on what content a customer really
cares about, as well as finds bugs and usability issues that stop
or delay revenue.”

Analyzing data provided through heat maps can be cumbersome
but keep these points in mind during analysis and when
drafting suggestions and recommendations:

• Areas that receive few clicks could be removed. If users don’t
find them important they may be more of a distraction than
providing help. If you’re hesitant to leave sections empty, simply
replace them with something entirely different to see if that
leads to more interest on the part of users.

• While identifying areas that receive the most attention is useful,
particularly for those responsible for optimizing content,
observing the areas after they click to those destinations is perhaps
even more useful. For example if users do not click anywhere
after arriving on a page they may have hit a dead end.
Try to turn those endings into new beginning by offering content
suggestions or product recommendations.

The job of a Web designer — or anyone responsible for optimizing
the user experience — is to maximize interest in the site
and its products or content while maintaining usability.

The challenge
is to balance aesthetics with function. To achieve this you
must give website visitors a direction; guiding them where you
want them to go. Too many options, however, and it is easy to
confuse and frustrate users. Not enough information or choices,
on the other hand, could mislead website visitors.

In the end, understand that no website is perfect. While pairing
heat maps with analytics is useful, making website changes
does not guarantee that all of your problems will be solved. Be
sure to test, test, and retest after making any improvements and
modifications to determine how those changes improved or worsened
the user experience.